Diell Breaker (LGBT- Sci-Fi - Romance)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

Petrov looked thoughtfully at Peterson, the local man who had found the stud. He looked teasingly familiar. Where on Earth had he seen him before?  

The two flyers were overhead, scanning the terrain from above while the search party was closely examining the surrounding area looking for further evidence of which way Rhys had gone. It struck Petrov that all their resources were now consolidated around this point. Great if this is where Rhys was, but what if he wasn't? 

He spoke to Cheung, who was back in the Three Suns establishing a temporary command post, on his wristcom. "Can I ask sir, did your men complete the house to house search?" 

"Yes, they did. Why?" 

"It just occurred to me to wonder if the stud was planted. What if the abductor wants to send us in the wrong direction?" He could hear Cheung sigh on the other end. 

"Petrov, I understand your concern for Owen, but I think we need to investigate the simplest option first." He paused, then offered, "If we don't have any success in an hour or two Lieutenant, I promise I'll extend the search." 

"Thank you sir," Petrov wasn't happy but it was the best he could hope for unless he found something solid to support his theory. Shehu stood nearby listening to the conversation, his entire attention focussed on Petrov. 

"You think it's a plant?" he asked. 

"It just seems strange, that his earstud should be found out here, it's at least half a kay from where his wristcom was found." 

"I see what you mean," agreed Shehu. "It's a long way to bring someone, unless-" he looked apologetically at Petrov. 

The other man grimly completed the sentence. "Unless he was dead and they wanted to dispose of the body." He shook his head. "I'm not going to give up believing he's alive until we find him. In which case, if this is a plant, what lies in the opposite direction from here?" He turned and started walking back the way they had come. 

XXX 

Rhys sat back down on the ground. He had just managed to touch the roof with his fingertips at his last jump and it felt like ... actually it felt like lasered mud brick. That was so unlikely he knew he had to try again. He took a couple of calming breaths and stood up. He jumped upwards as high as he could. Yes! His fingers scraped along the surface, scratching the skin, and yes, it still felt like lasered mud brick. Which meant he was underneath a building somewhere, underneath foundations or possibly in a cellar or storage place. Was that good or bad?  

He supposed it was both. Good, in the sense that he must be somewhere in town, near people, someone should hear him sooner or later surely? Bad maybe, in the sense that he was unlikely to be able to break out by himself, he couldn't possibly chip his way through a lasered mud brick. The walls and floor were plain dirt though. Perhaps he could dig into the wall and make a mound out of the soil and stones to stand on. He wished he had a pole or a stick that he could bang against the ceiling to try and attract attention, but he didn't, all he had was his voice and possibly a decent sized stone that he might be able to dig out of the wall. He could use that to bang on the roof. In the meantime he would simply have to keep calling out, perhaps just a couple of shouts for help every few minutes. It was surprising how much better he felt now that he had a plan of action. Alexei would be proud of him. 

When Alexei found him he would be so grateful, he would swear never to be unfaithful again, if he would only take him back, this time it would be different.  

XXX  

Shehu brought a small picture of the area up on his wristcom as they walked. "More or less immediately south of here is the edge of the town, then past that are a few isolated buildings, which look like sheds or small cabins about a hundred metres from the river." 

"Fishing cabins maybe?" Petrov queried. He knew a lot of fishers liked to have their equipment stored near the water for easy access. "I wonder if Cheung's men searched those as well as the houses? Could you run a check of the cabin owners for me?" he asked, following a hunch.  

At the same moment Shehu looked up and said, "This is interesting, Sam Peterson owns one," Petrov remembered where he had seen him before. Or rather a picture of him, nearly a year ago in Rhys' room when they first started going out together. 

"My ex," Rhys had told him casually, deleting the picture. "I don't want to be reminded of him! He had a few problems ... letting go." 

"It's too much of a coincidence!" Petrov exclaimed, telling Shehu what he remembered. "Let's go and have a look at that cabin. I'll just give Cheung a call and bring him up to speed." 

There was a peculiar silence on the other end after Petrov finished speaking. Was Cheung still there? "Sir?"  

Shehu edged a bit closer, wondering if he dared put an arm around Petrov's shoulders. 

"How far away from the cabin do you think you are?" Cheung asked urgently. "I'll send one of the flyers but get there as fast as you can. Corporal Harrison just told me Peterson left the search party about ten minutes ago and he hasn't come back."